It happened in a flash. One second you’re watching a fast-paced documentary about the history of Japan, and the next, a neon-colored phrase is seared into your brain: open the country, stop having it be closed.
If you spent any time on the internet in 2016, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Bill Wurtz, the musician and animator known for his erratic, jazz-fusion-infused educational videos, basically redefined how we consume history. His "history of japan" video didn't just go viral; it became a linguistic shorthand. People started using that specific phrase for everything from international trade disputes to complaining about a locked fridge. It’s weird how a joke about Commodore Matthew Perry and 19th-century gunboat diplomacy became a permanent fixture of digital slang.
But why does it still matter? Why, nearly a decade later, are people still searching for the "open the country stop having it be closed" moment?
Honestly, it’s because it perfectly captures the absurdity of geopolitical pressure. When the United States showed up in Edo Bay in 1853, they weren't exactly asking nicely. They brought four massive warships—black ships, as the Japanese called them—and a letter from President Millard Fillmore. The message was simple: trade with us or there will be consequences. Wurtz’s phrasing strips away the dry, academic layers of "isolationism" and "protectionist policies" to reveal the raw, slightly aggressive absurdity of the situation.
The Reality of Commodore Perry and the Black Ships
History books call it the "Opening of Japan," but let's be real. It was an ultimatum. For over 200 years, the Tokugawa Shogunate had kept the country under Sakoku, a policy of near-total isolation. Only the Dutch and Chinese had limited trading rights, mostly through the tiny island of Dejima. Japan was a locked room, and the West didn't have a key, so they brought a sledgehammer.
When Perry arrived, he didn't just hand over a polite invitation. He moved his ships into a position where they could fire on the capital. He gave the Japanese officials a white flag, telling them to use it if they wanted to surrender after he started a war. It was incredibly tense. Bill Wurtz’s video turns this high-stakes standoff into a rhythmic, catchy demand. It’s funny because it’s accurate. The U.S. essentially said, "We’ve decided you're part of the global economy now. Deal with it."
The Shogunate was in a bind. They’d seen what happened to China during the Opium Wars. They knew they couldn't win a direct fight against modern steamships. So, they signed the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. This wasn't just about "opening the country"; it was about survival. It sparked a massive internal revolution, the Meiji Restoration, which dragged Japan from a feudal society into a global industrial power in a few short decades.
Why the Meme Format Actually Works for Learning
Education experts sometimes get caught up in "serious" delivery. Wurtz proved that you can teach complex historical shifts using bright colors and synthesizers. When he screams open the country, stop having it be closed, he’s teaching you about the end of the Edo period more effectively than a 400-page textbook.
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Short-form content usually fails because it lacks depth. Wurtz is different. He crams an immense amount of research into a nine-minute video. Every "bad" joke or weird font choice represents a real historical event. The "open the country" segment represents the shift from the Sakoku era to the Bakumatsu period—the final years of the Shogunate.
People remember it because it’s visceral.
The phrase has also evolved. In 2020 and 2021, during the height of various lockdowns, the phrase saw a massive resurgence on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok. People used it to express their frustration with border closures and stay-at-home orders. It’s a testament to the phrase's versatility. It moved from a niche historical joke to a universal cry for "letting the outside world back in."
Breaking Down the "History of Japan" Success
Bill Wurtz didn't just get lucky. The video has over 50 million views for a reason.
- The Pacing. It’s relentless. You can’t look away because you’ll miss three centuries of history in five seconds.
- The Aesthetic. It looks like a fever dream from 1995. Vaporwave meets Windows 3.1.
- The Music. Wurtz is a genuinely talented musician. The jingles aren't just background noise; they are the narrative structure.
- The Honesty. It doesn't romanticize history. It treats the rise and fall of empires with a sort of "well, that happened" nonchalance that resonates with a cynical internet audience.
The "open the country" bit is arguably the climax of the video's first half. It represents the point where Japan stops being an isolated island and becomes a player on the world stage. It’s the moment everything changes.
The Economic Impact of "Opening"
Let’s get nerdy for a second. When the country was forced to "stop having it be closed," it wasn't just about selling tea and silk. It was about the influx of Western technology, law, and military structure.
The Japanese government sent the Iwakura Mission—a group of diplomats and scholars—around the world to see what they’d been missing. They went to the U.S., the UK, France, and Prussia. They weren't just tourists. They were industrial spies, essentially. They looked at how the British ran their navy and how the Americans ran their post offices.
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By the time the early 1900s rolled around, Japan had modernized so fast it shocked the world by defeating Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. None of that happens without Perry’s "invitation." The meme is the catalyst for the entire modern history of East Asia.
What We Get Wrong About Isolationism
There’s a common misconception that Japan was "backwards" before they were forced to open. That’s not true. During the Edo period, Japan had a highly literate population, a sophisticated banking system, and a vibrant urban culture. They weren't "stuck" in the past; they were just operating in a closed-loop system.
When people quote open the country, stop having it be closed, they often imply that the opening was an objectively good thing. For the West? Sure, they got new markets. For Japan? It was a traumatic, violent transition that led to the end of the Samurai class and several civil wars, like the Boshin War.
It’s a complicated legacy wrapped in a 5-second jingle.
How to Apply the "Bill Wurtz Method" to Your Own Content
If you’re a creator or a writer, there’s a massive lesson here. You don’t need to be formal to be taken seriously. In fact, formality often acts as a barrier to entry.
Wurtz’s brilliance lies in his ability to simplify without being reductive. He gives you the "vibe" of the history while maintaining the "facts" of the history. If you want people to remember what you say, you have to find your own version of that neon-text energy.
- Identify the core conflict. In this case, it was "Closed Country vs. Industrial Expansion."
- Strip away the jargon. "End the policy of isolationism" becomes "stop having it be closed."
- Add rhythm. Information is easier to digest when it has a beat.
- Be unapologetically weird. If Wurtz had made a "normal" documentary, no one would be talking about it today.
Beyond the Meme: What’s Next?
Bill Wurtz still makes content, though his pace has slowed. He took a long hiatus between "history of the entire world, i guess" and his more recent musical 3D animations. But his influence is everywhere. You see it in the way YouTubers like Oversimplified or even some mainstream news outlets try to use motion graphics and humor to explain complex topics.
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The "open the country" meme is a permanent part of the internet's DNA. It’s used by economists to talk about trade barriers, by gamers to talk about locked content, and by historians to make their students laugh.
It reminds us that history isn't just a list of dates. It’s a series of moments where people—often under a lot of pressure—had to make choices. Sometimes those choices were made for them by a guy with a lot of cannons and a very persistent letter.
If you want to dive deeper into this, don't just watch the meme clips. Go watch the full "history of japan" video again. Pay attention to the transitions. Look at how the music changes when the country moves from the Sengoku period (warring states) to the Edo period (peace/isolation). There is a level of craft there that most "viral" content never achieves.
To actually apply the lessons of this era to modern life:
- Analyze your own "isolationism." Are there parts of your business or creative process that are "closed" because you’re afraid of the "black ships" of new technology?
- Look for the "ultimatum" in current events. When you see international trade deals being signed, ask who’s holding the proverbial white flag.
- Value brevity. If you can say it in five words, don't use fifty.
The next time you see a neon sign or hear a quirky synth pop tune, you’ll probably think of Commodore Perry. And you’ll definitely think about why that country really needed to stop having it be closed.
History is messy, loud, and often ridiculous. Bill Wurtz just had the guts to show it to us in 1080p.